Рассказы / Short Stories

Exercises

1. Choose the right variant:

1. Soapy like to be homeless.

2. Soapy does not know where to spend cold winter.

3. Soapy faces the urgent necessity of finding some sort of shelter for the winter.

4. Thinking of the local jail as a homeless shelter is common for the people.

2. What is the main character’s name?

1. Soapy

2. Mike

3. Con

4. John

3. What was the young woman’s reaction?

1. She felt harassed.

2. She proved to be more than ready for action.

3. She called the policeman.

4. She was astonished.

4. Why did the waiter refuse to serve Soapy?

1. Because the restaurant was closed.

2. Because they didn’t accept credit cards.

3. Because it was a self-service restaurant.

4. Because he looked at Soapy’s threadbare clothes.

5. What is Yale?

1. It is the town where Soapy came from.

2. It is the name of the old church.

3. It is widely considered to be one of the most prestigious universities in the world.

4. It is the name of the organ company.

6. What is an anthem?

1. a type of restaurant

2. a form of church music

3. Soapy’s surname

4. a holiday

7. Choose the right variant:

1. Soapy recalls that a successful businessman had once offered him a job.

2. Soapy recalls that a successful businessman had twice offered him a job.

3. Soapy recalls that a successful businessman had thrice offered him a job.

4. Soapy recalls that a successful businessman had many times offered him a job.

8. What did Soapy decide to do on the very next day?

1. Soapy decided to invent a wiser plan to get to the Island.

2. Soapy decided to repeat his experience.

3. Soapy decided to become a Yale student.

4. Soapy decided to apply for employment.

9. What has Soapy been arrested for?

1. Soapy has been arrested for vandalizing the plate-glass window of a shop.

2. Soapy has been arrested for loitering.

3. Soapy has been arrested for pretending to be publicly intoxicated.

4. Soapy has been arrested for stealing another man’s umbrella.

10. Choose the right adverb:

All of Soapy’s attempts are _____________ exposed as failures.

1. slowly

2. quickly

3. happily

4. hard

11. Choose the correct verbs:

A police officer ________ to the broken window but ________ to _______ an innocent bystander.

1. responds, decides, to pursue

2. to pursue, responds, decides

3. decides, to pursue, responds

4. responds, to pursue, decides

12. Insert the right prepositions:

onto – into – of – on

1. A policeman taps Soapy _____________ the shoulder and asks him what he is doing.

2. Soapy despairs _____________ his goal of getting arrested and imprisoned.

3. Soapy’s ploys include swindling a restaurant ____________ serving him an expensive meal.

4. Two servers throw Soapy out _____________ a concrete pavement.

13. Complete the chart:

Witches’ Loaves^[10]

Miss Martha Meacham kept the little bakery on the corner. Miss Martha was forty, her bank-book showed a credit of two thousand dollars, and she possessed two false teeth and a sympathetic heart.

Two or three times a week a customer came in to buy some bread. He was a middle-aged man, wearing spectacles and a brown beard.

He spoke English with a strong German accent. His clothes were worn and darned in places. But he looked neat, and had very good manners.

He always bought two loaves of stale bread^[11]. Fresh bread was five cents a loaf. Stale ones were two for five.

Once Miss Martha saw a red and brown stain on his fingers. She was sure then that he was an artist and very poor. No doubt^[12] he lived in a garret, where he painted pictures and ate stale bread.

When Miss Martha sat down to dinner and tea she used to sigh and think of the poor artist and feel sorry for him. Miss Martha’s heart was a sympathetic one.

In order to test her theory, she brought from her room one day a painting that she had bought at a sale, and hung it on the wall of her bakery.

It was a Venetian scene. A splendid marble palace stood in the foreground. For the rest there were gondolas (with the lady trailing her hand in the water), clouds, sky.

Two days afterward the customer came in.

“Two loafs of stale bread, if you blease^[13].

“You haf here a fine bicture^[14], madame,” he said while she was wrapping up the bread.

“Yes?” says Miss Martha. “You think it is a good picture?”

“Der balance^[15],” said the customer, “is not in good drawing. Der bairspective^[16] of it is not true. Thank you, madame.”

He took his bread, bowed, and hurried out.

Yes, he must be an artist. Miss Martha took the picture back to her room.

How gentle and kindly his eyes shone behind his spectacles! What a broad brow he had! Genius often has to struggle.

He saw the perspective at once. She wanted to help him – to keep house for him, to share with him all the good things she had in her bakery. Maybe even two thousand dollars. But these were day-dreams, Miss Martha.

Often now when he came he talked to her for a few minutes. But he bought only stale bread as before. Never a cake, never a pie, never one of her delicious sweets.

She thought he began to look thinner and discouraged. Her heart wished to add something good to eat to his meagre purchase. But she did not dare affront him. She knew the pride of artists.

Miss Martha began to wear her new blue silk dress. She also began to use some cream in order to make her face a little more beautiful.

One day the customer came in as usual, laid his nickel^[17] on the showcase, and asked for his stale loaves. While Miss Martha was getting them there from the shelf, the siren of a fire-engine was heard.

The customer hurried to the door to look. Miss Martha seized the opportunity.

On the bottom shelf behind the counter was a pound of fresh butter that the dairyman had left ten minutes before. With a bread knife Miss Martha made a deep cut in each of the stale loaves, inserted a big piece of butter, and pressed the loaves tight again.

When the customer turned from the door, she was tying the paper around them.

When he had gone, after an unusually pleasant little chat, Miss Martha smiled to herself.

She was thinking about her deed. Had she the right to do such a thing? Will he feel offended? But surely not. That’s just butter, nothing more.

She imagined the scene when he discovers her little deception.

He will lay down his brushes and palette. He will prepare for his luncheon of dry bread and water. He will cut into a loaf – ah!

Miss Martha blushed. Will he think of the hand that placed the butter in the bread? Will he —

The front door bell jangled viciously. Somebody was coming in, making a great deal of noise.

Miss Martha hurried to the door. Two men were there. One was a young man smoking a pipe – a man she had never seen before. The other was her artist.

His face was very red, his hat was on the back of his head. He clinched his two fists and shook them ferociously at Miss Martha. At Miss Martha!

“Dummkopf^[18]!” he shouted with extreme loudness; and then “Tausendonfer^[19]!” or something like it in German.

The young man tried to draw him away.

“I vill not go,” he said angrily. “You haf shpoilt me^[20],” he cried, his blue eyes blazing behind his spectacles. “I vill tell you^[21]. You vas von meddingsome old cat!^[22]”

Miss Martha leaned weakly against the shelves and laid one hand on her blue silk dress. The young man took the other by the collar.

“Come on,” he said, “you’ve said enough.” He dragged the angry one out at the door to the sidewalk, and then came back.

“I want to explain,” he said, “That’s Blumberger^[23]. He’s an architectural draftsman^[24]. I work in the same office with him. He has worked hard for three months drawing a plan for a new city hall. It was a prize competition. He finished inking the lines^[25] yesterday. You know, a draftsman always makes his drawing in pencil first. After that he inks the line. When it’s done he rubs out the pencil lines with stale bread. That’s better than India rubber^[26].

Blumberger has bought the bread here. Well, today he tried to rub out the pencil lines of his plan with the bread he bought in your bakery… You know, ma’am, that butter isn’t good for paper. And well, Blumberger’s plan can now be used only as a paper for railroad sandwiches.”

Miss Martha went into the back room. She took off the blue silk dress and put on the old brown serge she was wearing before.